This required course will help you learn the specific theories and strategies for teaching well in the university classroom. It is important to your degree because as new PhD’s, you will be expected to show effectiveness in your teaching from the beginning of your career. In fact, many colleges and universities will not hire students who have not had a course like this one. It fits into what you are studying specifically by giving you the opportunity to take the higher-level knowledge and skills you have learned in other courses and apply them to teaching/learning situations.

Course Learning Goals and Objectives:

The general goal of this course is to help you become effective university teachers.

By the end of this semester, you will:

Understand the difference between learning goals and learning objectives.

Be able to write learning goals.

Be able to write learning objectives.

Know what makes an effective lecture.

Deliver an effective lecture.

Understand learning theory as it applies to learning in university classes.

Understand motivation theory as it applies to university students.

Know how to structure instruction to take advantage of students’ motivational orientations.

Teaching Methods Used in this Course:

In this class, I will lecture but not for long periods of time. We will have class discussions, small group exercises, videos, presentations, and guest lecturers. My philosophy is that the instructional methods should be as varied as possible to allow for all kinds of learning preferences and to stave off predictability. If you like a particular teaching method that we have not used in class, please let me know about your preference.